Why Do All Good Things Come To An End?
by Toxophilite
Summary: A one-shot of a tribute from the First Hunger Games as the tributes make friends, not knowing what lays ahead in the days to come.


**Beware that this is long, and please review! I worked really hard on it. It is a tributes POV of the first ever games, and things are a little different….because it's the first games…Just read and review! :D**

My name was chosen, for what, I still do not know. The Capitol is keeping some kind of secret from the districts, but Cytheria and I are going away for a while.

I just knew what for.

At least I get to leave District 7 for a while, I have never been out before.

Maybe this is a good thing.

~HG~

Strange men in uniform who called themselves "Peacekeepers" put me and Cytheria on a train. We stood there for a while, not knowing what to do, until a man came in and told us to sit. We sat at a table while the man asked us if we had any special talents, anything we could do. I didn't know what he meant, so of course I said no.

The response scared me a little.

"Good luck then."

~HG~

The next morning I was woken up by the man who asked me all those questions last night. He told me to get dressed and meet him where we asked questions last night.

As I showered, I noticed the train was not moving. Are we at our location already?

I finished dressing, and as I pulled open my door, met Cytheria, who was standing outside my door. She backed up quickly and told me she didn't want to go out alone.

We walked together to the man, who told us to stand in front of the door and wait. We waited about 10 minutes before the doors opened and wind blasted in our faces. There were shouts and screams and flashes everywhere. Cytheria grabbed my arm as we were shuffled down the stairs into the strange land.

"Welcome to the Capitol." Said the man.

The Capitol! This is the last place I wanted to be, considering we just lost a war against them.

I looked around and noticed twelve trains altogether were lined up one by one. I could see a small girl with blond hair and green eyes. A boy with black hair and brown eyes. A girl with grey eyes, who was very skinny. All around, kids around my age, were walking out of trains.

Before anyone did anything, we were all whisked away by three people each.

~HG~

"Get his dirty nails cleaned!"

"Cut that mop on his head he calls his hair!"

"Ouch! My finger!"

This is all I heard from the strange looking people surrounding me, waxing me, washing me, everything to make me clean.

They soon finished up and stood me up and walked around me, like a bird circling its prey before it attacked. They gave me a robe and told me to stay while they get my "stylist" whatever that is.

I sat down on a squishy looking couch and waited, and waited, and waited. But finally, the three people from earlier came back with another man. The man introduced himself as Raasch.

Raasch, what a silly name.

He dismissed the three goons, as I decided to call them, back down the hall. Raasch reached into a closet and pulled out a bag. When he opened it, I almost burst out laughing.

A brown body suit, with twigs and leaves all hanging off of it.

He told me to put it on, and I hesitated.

"Something wrong?"

"No, give me the suit."

"Excellent!"

Soon, I was led to the basement where I met Cytheria and her goons. They pushed us up on a chariot car type thing pulled by horses. I took the chance to look around, and gasped when I saw the other kids here too.

But they didn't look like kids. They looked like extremely goofy kids.

There were diamonds, fruit, miners, electricians, mermaids, and other things I didn't recognize.

I looked ahead again when I heard ear shattering screams from outside. Big doors opened and all the chariots move out in formation.

~HG~

As we rolled out, people from the streets were calling my name. How did they know my name? I heard Cytheria's name too.

When we came to a stop, the president himself made an appearance. He waved and cheered along with the citizens of the Capitol as confetti rained down on us.

When we moved back towards the building in which we came from, I saw relief on many kids faces. And when those doors closed behind us, I ran for the stairs.

~HG~

I woke to Cytheria's crying from next door, and went to see what was wrong. I walked into her room without knocking, and sat on her bed. When she realized it was me, she hugged me while sobbing into my shirt.

"What are we doing here? Why cant we go home?"

"I don't know Cytheria."

"But why-"

We were interrupted by more of those Peacekeepers. They told us to come outside right now, so I took Cytheria's hand and walked out with her.

"You are to go to the bottom floor immediately."

We were led to an elevator and I pressed the button that said 1.

Once we arrived, there were 22 kids staring at us as we walked through the doors.

~HG~

I found out we were supposed to have a training session for what lay ahead of us in the future, and I saw weapons, food, ropes, tents, anything to survive in the wild. Which sent shivers down my back.

Once we could walk around, nobody moved.

Someone coughed and was nudged by the girl next to him.

It was quiet until someone finally broke the silence.

"None of you look like your from District 9."

We all stared at the girl who said it, and she stood up. We followed her lead and just stood around.

"We are from District 1."

"We are from District 2."

"We're from 3."

"Four!"

"Five."

"District 6, right here."

"Seven." Cytheria mumbled.

"Nine!"

"Ten over here!"

"Eleven…"

"And we are from twelve…."

Well, this is different. We are all from different districts, and there are two from each. A boy and a girl.

"Well what do we do now?"

A voice from one of the booths spoke up.

"You are to practice with everything you see here." Without needing to say it, we all walked to different areas. I walked over to a place with berries, and the grey eyed skinny girl joined me.

"H-hi." She squeaked.

"Hello, I'm Kantix, who are you?" I asked as nicely as I could.

"My name is Jade, I know, its not a very common District 12 name."

"District 7." We shook hands and worked with the berries.

While we were identifying which berries were which, a woman walked in and told us to go outside for lunch.

~HG~

Once outside of the huge gym area, we saw twelve tables all scattered around the room where lunch was being served. We all looked at each other, and soon someone put all the tables together.

Once we were all sitting, a boy spoke up.

"What do you think this is about?"

We stared at each other, and pondered what the answer to that question may be.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I am Richie, District 1."

Soon, with the question forgotten, we were exchanging names.

Richie and Shimmer from 1.

Rex and Katiana from 2.

Daren and Layla from 3.

Silas and Oasis from 4.

Acton and Lena from 5.

Cher and Emilia from 6.

Me and Cytheria from 7.

Linus and Danika from 8.

Asael and Kijana from 9.

Afton and Kaley from 10.

Micah and Talasi from 11.

Bronx and Jade from 12.

24 of us in all.

"So, back to the question," Continued Richie after we talked and joked, "what are we doing here?"

"Maybe they want to make a peace offering?" Suggested Emilia.

"But they destroyed District 13."

"I'm not sure why we are here, and I know this isn't an answer to the question, but I am glad I'm here."

Jade?

Yes, that was her.

"I know it sounds crazy, but this may be good, I mean we are already kind of friends, so whatever happens, I want you all to know I am glad I met all of you."

Silence

"I, um, I agree." Piped up little Shimmer.

Silence again.

"Well, I didn't expect to make any friends," Micah said in his deep voice, "but I guess I'm glad to meet you all to."

~HG~

After lunch, we all walked back together to the gym, and trained some more. I found an ax, and felt at home as I imagined I was cutting trees again.

Training ended that day, and continued like this for two more days.

After meeting all these people, I feel like they all have a place in my heart where no one else could occupy it.

I feel like I have 23 spots in my heart, that couldn't be filled by anyone else.

I haven't felt like this in a long time since my family was murdered in the war.

I almost feel, happy.

~HG~

After the third day of training, I prepare to go downstairs again, when I am stopped by the man who was on the train.

"There is no training today. You will have interviews today, and then tomorrow will be the day."

The day for what?

Why wont anyone tell me anything?

After meeting Cytheria at my door, I am led to the three goons and Raasch again, who put me in a formal suit. It took them four hours. How! Capitol people are crazy.

I am led to the basement again, and am last there.

"Took you long enough slow poke!" Yelled Afton.

"Don't make me come over there." I say with a smile.

We really have bonded, all of us, in the short amount of time we have been together.

We could hear the screaming crowd again and immediately everyone's face has the same worried looks like they did when we were paraded through the city.

A door opens and we are ushered through it, where 24 chairs sit on a stage in front of a huge crowd.

We all take a seat and Shimmer is called to the center of the stage by a woman. The woman asks her all these questions before a buzzer rings out and she sends Shimmer back to her seat.

She does this to all of us. She asked me about my family, and I told her the answer.

"They died."

"Oh, you poor poor thing."

Once we have all been called up, an anthem plays, and I recognize it as Panem's anthem. We all stand and once the song is over, we are ushered back to the basement.

"You will all go to your rooms now. In the morning, you will stay there until someone comes for you. You will then be led to a hovercraft so you can get to the arena." A man from the doorway shouts to us all.

Arena? What's that supposed to mean?

~HG~

Once I wake in the morning, as if sensing I am awake, a man comes and leads me outside to a hovercraft, where I am injected with something and put on the hovercraft.

Raasch meets me at the top, and sits with me for the ride to wherever this "arena" is.

I am staring at the mountains that we are flying over, when the windows go black, and it is impossible to see out anymore.

Raasch leads me out of the hovercraft and through an underground tunnel to a room that has a 7 on it.

He leads me inside, tells me to shower, and gives me some clothes. Once I am dried off, I put the clothes on and look in a mirror.

I am wearing a grey long sleeved shirt with gray pants. I have running sneakers on and a sweatshirt sits next to me. I put it on and Raasch tells me to sit and wait.

Soon a voice comes from a hidden speaker.

"Time for launch."

Raasch sets me on a circular plate and tells me to wait for a gong to move, and only the gong. I nod and freeze up as a tube surrounds me, and I feel myself lifting up through the tube.

I am delivered into a field with a forest in the background, a mountain in front of me, and a river cutting through the circle of kids.

Circle of kids?

I look around and notice the 23 other kids are with me, all in a circle around a cornucopia of weapons, food, and supplies.

A booming voice shakes the ground.

"Ladies and Gentleman, let the First Annual Hunger Games, begin!"

~HG~

I see my friends, the kids I have bonded with over these past few days, look around for the voice, as they all move at once.

Wait for the gong, that's what I was told.

"Wait, you guys-"

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Three explosions shake the earth as I hear screams erupts all around me. I look across from me to see Cytheria and Acton covered in red, and an empty plate in between them.

No one else moves.

We stand there for who knows how long, when a gong rings out, and I run to the middle. The others, seeing that its safe, join me.

"WHAT WAS THAT!" Oasis screams at us all.

"What happened?" I asked Acton.

"I-I-I don't kn-know," He stutters, "I was standing next to Micah, and when his foot touched the ground, he was gone, he-he exploded!"

The others stare at him, mouths hanging open at what we heard. Exploded?

Daren and Layla exchange a glance and speak up.

"There were mines. Our stylist told us not to move until the gong, or mines would detonate."

"Mines? Mines! Why would the kill us!"

"Oasis, calm down, we need to figure out who's missing."

Acton speaks up. "Micah is dead."

I look around and see that Shimmer is sitting down, her blond hair now a sick shade of red.

"Le-Lena is too." She squeaks.

"And Asael was standing across from me, so I saw him get killed too." Adds Kaley

We stare at each other, not believing that three innocent kids are dead, but before anyone can act, 21 parachutes float down in front of everyone. We reach to open them, and read the note that's inside each.

_Kill._

~HG~

"Kill? They want us to kill each other, is that why we are here?"

"That's what they want us to do."

I stand shocked that any of them would even think of it.

"We can't, not after what we have been through these past days." Cher speaks up from being quiet in his little spot on the ground.

There are some exchanges and nods, and no one moves. I stand up and heads towards the cornucopia, reaching for an ax and a knife. I see some dried fruit, so I take that too.

"I agree with Cher, I-" But I never finish.

A growl rips out through the forest and 2 wolves come running out. Screams fill the air as everyone tries to run, but one girl is not lucky enough, and is ripped apart before I know what has happened.

"JADE!"

~HG~

The wolves drag her body out to the woods, and Bronx falls to the ground, sobbing.

"She was my neighboor, neighboor!"

Four innocent kids gone, in a matter of minutes.

"We cant stick together, we will get killed like that if we stick together." Oasis tries to speak, but is outspoken by something else.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Four bangs ring across the arena. Does it stand for the deaths? I see the others expressions, and can tell they are thinking the same thing.

Oasis tries again, but the voice from earlier returns.

"Tributes of the First Hunger Games!" Tributes? "In order to return home, you must be the last one alive. Kill or be killed!"

Shock, that is what my expression represents.

"Well my friends, all good things come to an end." Rex says as he stands up, grabs a spear and a backpack, and runs off in the direction of the mountain.

Is it really over. That fast?

Many others follow Rex's lead and grab a weapon, food, and run off somewhere, and soon I am alone.

Once night falls, The faces of Lena, Asael, Micah, and Jade appear in the sky, and I cant help but feel bad for them. Innocent children, that's what they were.

~HG~

I am awoken by a pressure on my chest, and wake to see Danika sitting with a knife at my throat. I scream and she jumps back.

"Danika!"

"I'm sorry, I truly am, but I want to go home." And with that, she charges.

I duck her swing and end up behind her, and without thinking, grab my ax and send it in her skull.

She gasps and falls, while another boom rings throughout the arena.

I stand there, with my mouth wide open at what I have just done. I killed a person, a friend! I grab my stuff and run. I cry as well, but I don't care. I run until I collapse, and I lay on the forest ground, looking up at the sky. I don't know how long it has been since I stopped running, but about an hour after my collapse, another cannon (I have decided that's what they were) rang out through the arena.

Another friend dead.

This game is changing people, and it's the Capitol's fault.

Why is the Capitol doing this to us!

~HG~

The faces of Layla and Danika are in the sky that night, and I think, who killed Layla?

The next morning, I walk around the forest, eating my dried fruit along the way when three cannons ring through the arena. I am heartbroken that 8 friends have been murdered in the amount of three days.

I decide to climb a tree, to remind me of home, and once I'm at the top, I can see throughout the entire arena. I stare out at the land in front of me for what must be hours, when I hear two loud clangs below me. I climb down a little, and what I see breaks my heart even more, if that's even possible.

Talasi and Emilia are locked in a heated fight, both having swords. Talasi swings but Emilia blocks and turns to run. Talasi takes chace, but when Emilia disappears around a big tree, stops for a moment and looks around. Emilia comes around the back of Talasi's unguarded back and sinks the sword through. Talasi falls, another cannon, and another piece in my heart shatters.

Silas, Cher, and Talasi show up in the sky tonight, before vanishing forever.

~HG~

Nothing much happens the next day. I go back to the river that cuts through the arena, and find that I'm not the only one there.

Shimmer looks up at me, gives a faint smile, and runs off to the woods.

This game is striking fear into our hearts.

~HG~

Two cannons ring out at around sundown, and I know I will be seeing two faces in a couple of minutes.

And I am not wrong when the faces of Kijana and Richie appear.

Kijana, the first one to speak out in training. Richie, the first one to speak out at lunch.

Dead.

~HG~

Two whole days pass without anything happening. I decide that I should probably go find more berries or fruit to eat. I grab my supplies before leaving.

I pick up a nice batch of berries, am about to eat one, but am stopped by an arrow whizzing by my head. I could feel the wind from the arrow, which means it was really, really close.

I spin around and face Bronx and Oasis. But something's off.

They look, different. Oasis's usually pretty eyes are, somewhat crazed looking. And Bronx looks like he just wants to crawl into a hole and die.

People are changing, I was right.

"Oasis, Bronx, don't do this."

"Or what!" Shouts Oasis, "Gonna kill us like you did Danika?"

How, how could they know that?

"I-she attacked me!"

"He's right Oasis, lets just-"

"Shut up Bronx! All you do is sulk around, doing nothing to help yourself, and I am sick of it!" Bronx doesn't even get a chance to move when Oasis takes her arrow and shoves it in his chest. Bronx falls to the ground, coughing up blood and shaking.

"Now, for you Kantix." And she shoots again. I feel a pain in my arm and see that the arrow found a new home, blood soaking my shirt.

Oasis walks over and kneels down, looking straight into my eyes.

"I _will_ go home Kantix."

"I'm so sorry Oasis." I say before I take my knife out of my pocket. She looks confused for a moment before her eyes go wide, and she falls over so I see my knife sticking out of her back.

Bronx's cannon goes off, and when I take my knife out and grab my ax, Oasis leaves this world with one last bang.

BOOM!

BOOM!

~HG~

Over three days after I fought Oasis, there have been five deaths total.

Oasis, Bronx, Rex, Kitarina, and Daren.

I have run out of food, and its getting colder. I need a blanket or something, along with food.

Almost as if they could hear me, the voice rings out through the arena.

"Final 8 tributes! I am here to let you know that there will be a feast at the cornucopia in 10 minutes, and there will be something there that you all desperately need."

10 minutes? We must all be really close.

And like he said, within 5 minutes I am at the cornucopia, and within 10 minutes I spot Shimmer and Cytheria about 100 feet from each other on the other side of the cprnucopia.

A table rises out of the ground, and once its finished I can fully see the blankets and food.

Afton and Kaley are the first to run out, followed by Linus on the other side. I run out with my ax and knife, noticing Emilia was about 20 feet to my left. She follows on my left side before I cast her a quick glance. She moves away a little after that. We all reach the table at once, Acton being the last.

He reaches for the blanket, and notices there is only one.

He tries to make off with it, but Kaley sends a spear through his back and goes for the blanket herself.

But soon everyone is fighting for the blanket.

Kaley gets intercepted by Linus.

Afton tackles Emilia to the ground, she kicks and kicks but he is just to big. He jabs a knife through her windpipe and jumps off in reach for the blanket. Cytheria stomps on his hand before he can get there, and grabs the blanket.

Shimmer is chasing down Cytheria while Kaley still fights Linus, spear against dagger. That's why when Kaley sends the spear through Linus's stomach, it is clear a dagger isn't good against a spear.

Afton resumes his stance and turns to face me. I grab my ax and prepare for the worst, seeing three friends murdered in under a minute. He throws a knife and it hit's the same arm the Oasis shot, doubling the pain that was already there. I charge him and swing my ax, but he kicks my legs and I go stumbling to the ground.

Afton moves in for a punch, but I roll over, making him punch the ground and I hear a crack so loud I am sure everyone looked over.

"MY HAND!" Afton broke his hand on the punch he missed.

I take his distraction to my disadvantage and swing my ax into his chest.

Ripping it out, Afton's eyes glaze over and he falls to the ground to never move again.

Kaley runs off with the blanket, taking it off a body on the ground.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Five shots? I only saw four deaths. I glance over to see blond hair run into the woods, and look in the direction in which Shimmer is running from.

I see Cytheria. Cytheria with a dagger sticking out of her chest.

Shimmer, little Shimmer killed Cytheria.

~HG~

With three of us left, we don't see each other for two more days.

Two more days of freezing and starving.

I am walking towards the mountain to see if it will have any food at all, when I am stopped by a wolf.

We stare for a while, until it breaks into a run. I run from the giant creature that is chasing me up this huge mountain. I can feel its breath on my back as I try to run to the top, only to find the wolf stop, and walk away.

Confused, but thankful for a little rest, I take deep breaths, trying to calm down.

That is until I hear shouts coming from the top of the mountain.

I run up to see little Shimmer in a heated battle with Kaley, who is actually being pushed back. Kaley stops and runs down the mountain, heading straight for me and is unaware of that. When she runs by I sing my ax out and catch her in the chest. Her eyes go wide and she falls, most likely hearing the cannon that announced her death.

I pull my ax out and walk over to Shimmer, who is now wide eyed and trembling.

"I am sorry about this Shimmer. I really am."

She tries to run, but my ax leaves my hand before she makes it to the edge.

BOOM!

I stand there, the feeling of what I had just done finally coming on.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the winner of the First Annual Hunger Games, Kantix Kalel, from District 7!"

And that's when I black out.

~HG~

I wake up in a hospital, tied down to a bed. I struggle to get out, but feel a prick in my arm, and everything goes black.

When I wake again, I am no longer tied down. I sit up slowly, and look in a mirror on the wall.

I look better than I ever have. My arm doesn't look cut or torn in any way. It looks like I gained weight as well.

The door opens, and the man from the train walks in.

"How do feel?"

"Like a murderer."

"Yeah well, your alive, so be grateful."

Grateful? 23 of my friends are dead!

23 pieces of my heart are shattered.

I thought I was going to have a good time with my new friends, not kill them.

Why do all good things come to an end?

~HG~

Over the next few days, I go through more interviews, and they make me watch the games again. I see the deaths of the people who I didn't see in the entire arena. I see all the murders I committed, and I look away for the rest of the time.

~HG~

50 years later

Turns out I wasn't going to be the only winner of these games.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the Fifty First Annual Hunger Games begin!"

I watch the screen and see three kids go down immediately, just like in my games.

I turn off the TV, and go up to my room. I lay down on my bed, and fall asleep, never to wake again. I know that I have died, peacefully thank goodness, but where am I now?

I am in a field, with a giant tree. I look around and notice that there is a pond over to the side. I walk up to it and gasp.

I don't look the age when I died, I look like myself when I was younger, when I was chosen for those games.

"Finally you showed up, I was wondering if you were coming."

I spin around so fast, I probably looked like a blur.

Cytheria.

"We were waiting for the last one. You."

She smiles and tells me everything I did has been forgiven by her and everyone else.

"Everyone else?" I ask.

"There you are slow poke, took you long enough!"

"Afton!"

They were all here, all smiling.

Richie and Shimmer.

Rex and Kitarina.

Daren and Layla.

Silas and Oasis.

Acton and Lena.

Cher and Emilia.

Linus and Danika.

Asael and Kijana.

Afton and Kaley.

Micah and Talasi.

Bronx and Jade.

Me and Cytheria.

Maybe all good things do come to an end, but a new one is bound to start sooner or later.

**WOW! That was the longest I wrote in my whole life.**

**Please review! I worked so hard on this and would love to hear from you guys.**


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